Healthy bodies, happy lives, one little change at a time.

A blog award! Plus, my 10 favorites

What a pleasant surprise I got today: I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog award by Kim Humphrey of Learn to Love Food.

Kim is a new reader, and I recently discovered her blog, as well — a must-read for parents struggling to get their children to love food. She is a speech therapist specializing in pediatric feeding therapy and she not only knows her stuff, she presents it in a fun and casual yet impactful way. Even if you don’t have children with food aversions, you’ve just got to check out her whimsical and delicious-looking edible creations. Thank you for the nomination, Kim, and I’m excited to keep the tradition rolling forward.

Here are the rules/instructions for the “One Lovely Blog Award”:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you (mention your nominator in your own award post with a link back to their original award post, here).
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 other bloggers and comment on their blogs (usually on their about page or contact directly if necessary) to let them know.

So, here goes…

7 things about me

1. I don’t consider myself very sentimental or emotional, but I am a sucker for period pieces — TV, movies, books, plays, whatever. I love the feeling they give me of visiting a different place and time, and of course they’re stunning to look at.

2. I discovered punk rock at a critical time in my life when I needed something to help me be strong. In many ways the music I listened to and the culture I fell into saved my very life. I will always consider myself a punk rocker at heart, and though my outward style may have evolved, I love studs and leather and things that remind me of that important time when I learned to stand tough.

Being punk-ish with my hot husband, circa 2010

3. I hoard notebooks. Any color, size, and shape, including Post-Its. Can’t get enough.

4. One of my daughters is named after me: Elizabeth Lindsay (we call her Beth). I’m part Scottish and Lindsay is our clan name, and I always knew I wanted to pass it on just as it was passed on to me. I was named after my grandfather, Edward Lindsay, who was given his mother Priscilla’s maiden name.

5. I am secretly a cat lover and would have at least one if my husband weren’t allergic. I admire and identify with their independence (some might say indifference, but whatevs), and there are few things better than a kitten snuggled up to you and purring.

6. Family lore has it that we are descended from a long line of “white witches” who had powers of clairvoyance. Still waiting to discover mine…

7. I didn’t start cooking until I was well into my 20’s and I hated it for years. Then last year, at age 32, I discovered vegan cooking and whole-foods, plant-based eating and fell thoroughly in love. If I have spare time you’ll likely find me in the kitchen, trying out a new recipe for whole grain bread or meatless meatloaf or whipping up snacks from scratch. I never imagined I’d want to be vegan or vegetarian, ever, though my favorite foods have always been plant-based. My top three favorites are fresh basil pesto on capellini, homemade guacamole, and French fries (or really any kind of potato any which way I can get it.)

My nominees for the One Lovely Blog Award

I’m new to the food blogging world so I’m going to keep my list to 10 instead of 15. These are the blogs and websites that put me on the healthy living path and I love each and every one of them. Be sure to give them all a visit, and I hope you’ll be as inspired as I am.

1. KrisCarr.com – This is the woman who started it all for me. I first saw her in the documentary “Hungry for Change.” Her story so inspired me and she has a radiant glow that I was dying to have myself, so I immediately signed up for her newsletter. It was a decision that was literally life-changing. Click on over and get her three-day starter kit to find out how.

2. ChoosingRaw.com – I discovered Gena Hamshaw’s blog through KrisCarr.com, as Gena’s recipes form the basis of the three-day meal plan. Everything looked so incredibly delicious and surprisingly easy so I knew I had to give them a shot. I was hooked! Gena, you had me at “coconut chia pudding.”

3. MinimalistBaker.com – It wasn’t until I started to clean up my Pinterest recipe boards, weeding out the unhealthy from the healthy and utterly delicious, that I discovered I had a lot of pins from Minimalist Baker — yet I had never tried one. I quickly rectified that and became a believer that vegan cooking really could be mind-blowingly delicious.

4. OhSheGlows.com – Speaking of mind-blowingly delicious, have you tried the recipes from Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows? If you’re craving the comfort of your favorite foods but want to give them a healthy, plant-based twist, check out her website and books, stat!

5. MyWholeFoodLife.com – Another game-changer blog was My Whole Food Life, one of the first healthy eating blogs I started following. If you’ve ever wondered how to make healthy sweets that are every bit as flavorful as their sugar-and-butter-laden counterparts, Melissa King can answer that question and then some.

6.StraightUpFood.com – This website was recommended to me by a friend, a nutritarian who’s been eating WFPB for years. Chef and blogger Cathy Fisher delivers just what she promises: straight-up food. But don’t be fooled by the simple title; her recipes are easy to make, yes, but absolutely bursting with color and flavor. Everything of hers I’ve made has been wonderful.

7. OhMyVeggies.com – If you’re looking to try vegetarian cooking on for size and still considering vegan, Oh My Veggies is a great place to get inspired. This blog has pages upon pages of beautifully photographed plant-based dishes, plus free meal plans and how-to’s.

8. DamnDelicious.net – The recipes from Damn Delicious aren’t exclusively plant-based, but Chungah’s delicious whole-foods dishes are drool-worthy no matter what eating philosophy you ascribe to. For cooks in a hurry (and really, who isn’t?), check out her one-pot wonders.

9. ChefChloe.com – If you’ve seen her on “Cupcake Wars,” you already know how genuine and sweet Chloe Coscarelli is. Thanks to her win, the vegan chef now has a number of cookbooks (“Chloe’s Kitchen” is my current fave!) that are not only inspiring, but so simple and delicious they give anyone the courage to try their hand at vegan cooking.

10. BetterAfter.net – And now for something completely different! My final nominee has nothing to do with cooking, but life sure would be boring with just one passion, wouldn’t it? Better After has a simple premise: to show before-and-after pictures of home decorating projects. Because really, that’s all you need. But Lindsey’s hilarious and whip-smart writing really brings it all home. This is honestly my absolute favorite blog, the only one I religiously check to see what I’ve missed, and I not so secretly wish she and I would meet in real life and she’d help me redo my kitchen and I’d cook her the best vegan food she’s ever had and we’d become BFFs. Instead I’ll just have to be content that she’s featured a few of my own makeovers (here and here, though I really think she should also feature my black and gold star-spangled wall, just sayin’) and call it a day.

2 thoughts on “A blog award! Plus, my 10 favorites”

Wow! I’m so touched by your sweet write-up! Thanks so much for including me in your list of favorites! I would love to wind up in your kitchen someday, eating all your vegan food. Then you can come over to my house and help me paint a gold star spangled wall too! I’m totally including your racehorse question on my deck of cards too. Only, I still can’t think of a good answer!

Looks like we’ve got ourselves a deal. And I don’t have a good answer for that question, either. Seamus McGillicuddy? Our Lady of the Oversized Hat? Hopefully you have some friends who are more clever.